1. Member States shall ensure that insurance claims take precedence over other claims against the insurance undertaking in one or both of the following ways:

(a) with regard to assets representing the technical provisions, insurance claims shall take absolute precedence over any other claim on the insurance undertaking; or

(b) with regard to the whole of the assets of the insurance undertaking, insurance claims shall take precedence over any other claim on the insurance undertaking with the only possible exception of the following:

(i) claims by employees arising from employment contracts and employment relationships;

(ii) claims by public bodies on taxes;

(iii) claims by social security systems;

(iv) claims on assets subject to rights in rem.

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, Member States may provide that the whole or part of the expenses arising from the winding-up procedure, as determined by their national law, shall take precedence over insurance claims.